UPDATE: 8/25/2024 8 PM -- The UAW held a pop-up action event Saturday afternoon to see if they could move things along.  The UAW 2300 bargaining committee made efforts to come back to the table by setting up outside the Ciser building anticipating further talks. 

Representatives from the UAW say they are "deeply concerned that Cornell's bargaining committee failed to monitor their emails during a critical ongoing strike."
They also say the UAW remains committed to resolving this strike and, as they have offered over the last few weeks, they are ready to negotiate with Cornell representatives at any time.

Members of Cornell's party are still asking the union to consider obtaining a mediator.  Both parties say they hope each group will demonstrate a commitment to ending the strike.

In the meantime, dining hall services are limited for students and faculty.

UPDATE: 8/23/2024 5 PM -- Cornell University has shared an update on negotiations with the UAW Local 2300, saying they want a mediator to step in to help resolve the labor dispute. In the meantime, students will start to see the impacts of the strike now that the semester has begun, specifically in dining. 

ITHACA, N.Y. (WENY) -- Labor strikes continued in Ithaca today as employees from Cornell University fight for a new and improved contract. The United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2300 represent over 1000 of these campus employees who are fighting for wage increases, an adjustment to cost of living, safer working conditions, and more.

As of Sunday, August 18, Cornell employees went on strike alongside their union representatives, the UAW Local 2300. Since then, the amount of people picketing has grown and spread out to seven locations on campus and in the Ithaca area.

Now, on Thursday, August 22, the fight and negotiations continue and protestors have a lot to say.

"We represent roughly 1,200 workers on campus in dining services, groundskeepers, facilities, maintenance, things of that nature," said Daniel Vicente, the Director of UAW Region Nine. "Our contract expired months ago but we've continued to negotiate in good faith for months on an expired contract, just keeping the status quo."

Many demands are on the table but, overall, employees are seeking a fair contract which they say the university has had plenty of time to provide.

"We gave the university a deadline of last Sunday at 10:00 P.M.," said Vicente. "The university for months has been dragging their feet. They have been slow-rolling negotiations. They only got serious about negotiations one hour before the strike was set to start and, we were very transparent. We told them from the start that it was not going to fly and so, they forced this strike."

However, a spokesperson from the university claims that the UAW has not been very responsive during this process. Other representatives from Cornell told WENY News that no one was available to speak, but, a letter which was made public by The Cornell Daily Sun was said to have been sent from the school to the UAW. The Cornell representative said the letter which was sent on Wednesday, August 22 "underscores their commitment to a fair contract."

In summary, the school asked the UAW to consider their request for a mediator to make the negotiation process easier and produce better results for both sides.

In the letter to the UAW, Lauren M. Johnston, the Senior Director, Staff and Labor Relations, Division of Human Resources from Cornell University wrote, "We again request your consideration of mediation. This would prove both parties’ commitment to the goal of reaching a resolution. We want to reach a fair and reasonable contract that meets the needs of your members and our employees."

As negotiations continue, protestors and union officials are asking all voices to jump into their picket lines whenever and wherever they can. This even includes student voices on Cornell's campus. Some of them say they benefit from all of the work that these employees do.

"We the students, we're customers of the university and we're part of the Cornell community," said Sam Poole, a first-year Cornell University student who joined the protests shortly after setting foot on campus for the first time. "So, we need to say as customers of the university and as part of the Cornell community, we won't stand up for this anymore. We want our university to do the right thing, do the fair thing, and sign a fair contract."

Vicente is adamant on continuing the fight at full force. He hopes that he and his fellow UAW members, alongside Cornell employees, will get the fair contract that everyone is hoping for.

Additionally, Vicente said local and state officials such as Ithaca Mayor Robert Cantelmo, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Senator Chuck Schumer, Governor Kathy Hochul, and more have reached out to help fight on their behalf.

Cornell officials and the UAW bargaining committee agreed to go back to the table for further discussion on Thursday, August 22.

Updates were last posted on August 21 but, more information on Thursday's negotiations are yet to come.